Chris Russell is a graduate of the Two-Year Early Childhood Education program.

When a student graduates from the Early Childhood Education program at Algonquin they are prepared to enter the work force with confidence and the necessary skills to succeed in the job market. One fundamental skill needed to be successful in Canada is to have experience working with ESL children. Canada has a diverse population and pre school centers look for recent graduates with experience working in different cultures. The two months I spent in Cairo to complete my diploma have helped immensely in this area, and I will bring the knowledge and experiences gained from working in a different culture back to the Canadian schools I will be working in.

This experience has also helped me to get into teacher’s college – one of the most selective programs, particularly at Ottawa University. Now when I look at education, I analyze it through a global lens. Perhaps most importantly, the experience underlines to me the importance of being inclusive of all cultures and religions in the classroom. In other words, it has caused me to be reflective of my own teaching strategies and how I can change them to adapt to different cultures and learning styles.

To give a specific example, I was very challenged as a teacher in Cairo because of the emphasis on standardized teaching and lack of free play. Algonquin prepared me for this by teaching me different strategies to encourage and “teach” students how to play. This placement also forced me to come up with alternate ways to communicate as the students all had English as a second language (and as mentioned earlier, this is very important for teachers in Canada to learn). I would like to thank Algonquin’s International Centre, the Coordinator of the ECE program and Financial Aid for giving me the opportunity to expand my skills as an educator.

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